Think twice

It is very disappointing that this business operates under very dishonest grounds. I was given a code to use their service for the first month. Before the next box was delivered, I sent them an email to cancel my subscription since they don't let their customers cancel on their own. First, they told me they couldn't cancel my next delivery because the package was "already en-route to the first FedEx hub." Then, I was actually told, by the same person through email, that the package "has not left the warehouse." Which means they lie in order to charge me for the next box. The representative just offered me to refuse the wine and still pay a fee or take the wine and get a small discount towards my third box.

After reading their entire Terms & Conditions Agreement, it said nothing about this kind of cancellation policy where you cannot cancel your account or an order even though they still have it in their warehouse and they have not provided the customer with ANY shipping information (because it was inexistent and they still had the wine in their facility). I asked the representative to refer me to the section of their user agreement indicating their cancellation policy and, of course, he wasn't able to provide any legal reference to this.

They only canceled my account but didn't cancel the second order. They couldn't even provide me with a package or shipping number, because the wine was still in their facilities waiting to be shipped days later.

After reading other experiences and reviews from their customers, this is something they do VERY often. Many others have experienced this same situation where they are left with no other option but to pay $100+ for a service they don't even want anymore.

On the other hand, the quality of their wines does not reflect their inflated price tag. I DO NOT RECOMMEND!

Warning

I don't usually write reviews, but I have to say, this has been one of the worst experiences I've had.

I used Club W/Winc and the last bottle they sent me broke as I was opening it, cutting my thump. I had to go to the doctor given the severity of what happened and when I told Winc, they did not give me a refund, or covered my expenses. Instead, they asked me to sent them back the bottles I had (paying for shipping myself), and they would refund what they received.

I do believe this is an awful service with cheap and dangerous wine bottles that are not worth the risk. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Terrible customer service, not a professional company

I received a $100 gift certificate for the holidays. After receiving my first order (which I was excited for), I realized one of the bottles was the same brand but different wine. I ordered the Cabernet and they sent me a Chardonnay. Not a big deal, so I contacted customer service two times and got no response.

So I called customer service and was able to reach a man who was very unfriendly. He told me that he would give me a credit for the bottle. I asked him if he would just send me the correct bottle and he got very nasty with me. He said the money is in your account and hung the phone up on me. I went on to my account and did not see the credit. When I refreshed the page, my whole account with all my information and my order was deleted. Are you kidding me?!

Outraged!

Terrible company! I got one shipment and the wine was not good, so I decided to cancel. Well, they have no place on the site to cancel, so I spoke to a representative on chat and they said my account was canceled. The next billing cycle I am charged $53.00! I contact customer service immediately; I had not received a shipping notification yet just saw it on my bank app. They said there was nothing I could do.

They REFUSED to refund me for an order they sent without permission after my account should have been closed then told me if I refused the order there was a $20 restocking fee. If I sent it back, the shipping would be on me as well, and a restocking fee may still apply.

I'm OUTRAGED. They make it impossible to cancel their subpar service. Also, you cannot choose when the wine is delivered, so it took me over a week to get my shipment after the first delivery attempt.

False advertising and misleading customer service.

False advertising. Customers CANNOT control the day/time of their delivery.

As per their article here: https://support.winc.com/hc/en-us/articles/223279247-Who-can-accept-a-shipment-from-Winc-.

"Further customize your delivery details (including scheduling a delivery date/time or delivering to another address*), you can sign up for FedEx's Delivery Manager to make those arrangements."

This is NOT true, which means that if you cannot sign for the package the first time, you will either have to make yourself available at four-hour intervals or add another errand to your day by going to you local FedEx, line up, sign and pick up the package there.

Awful customer service. I spent time arguing with them to then have them tell me that their website and support teams have been wrong and they were misleading customers.

Quality is Okay

I recently joined the Club W (now rebranded as Winc), got my 3 bottles of wine during new customer promotion, signed up for 3 free bottles, you pay tax and 9 dollars of shipping, cost me around 11.89 for three bottles, not bad at all.

I bring those wines to my family members who own a well-known vineyard and wine making company up in Napa and ask them to taste the wine without seeing the bottle (I pour the wine instead of them holding and checking out the bottle), the results are...

2015 Chenin Blanc Vinyasa - 3 stars

2015 Wayward Wine Co. Clarksburg Chardonnay - 3 stars

2015 Albarino Ye`Ye` Vino de Espana - 2 stars

After the conclusions from all 23 members of family and friends, all three wines are rated below average with the price tag. Those wines actually cost 13 dollars per bottle without tax, but they taste similar to a 4-dollar bottle wine, 2015 Barefoot white wine, sold at Safeway.

Shady Business Practices - Scam Alert

Whatever you do, DO NOT sign up for this company's monthly wine subscription. If you don't login to your account each month to check your "box" - where they automatically add wines to be shipped to you every month - or if you forget to skip a month's shipment, you will automatically be shipped wines you don't want and be stuck with the bill.

Then when you call customer service to initiate a return, they won't provide you a return label unless the order was for six or more bottles of wine. And then they will charge you a $20 restocking fee - for wines you DIDN'T want, AND that you had to pay out of pocket to ship back!

Each time I have had to send a return to them, they DID NOT automatically process my refund. I had to call and demand that it be processed - almost a month later to the day in the most recent incident!

So let's review - you'll be sent wine you don't want, forced to pay return shipping, and then charged a restocking fee, AND you will wait an indefinite amount of time to see ONLY A PORTION of your money back. In other words, you will pay 50% of what they originally billed you just to return wine you didn't want! So basically they steal from their customers when you are ALREADY unhappy with their service.

Absolute garbage. Horrible customer service policies. I canceled my account and will never go back.

What a scam

Disclaimer: I'm a snob, a little. I live next door to Sonoma and my local grocery is a Whole Foods so I get to drink nice wine.

But honestly, all of the Club W wines taste the same. And they're not great. Not bad, but not good by any means.

The really bad marks, however, are for their customer service. Total scam. They say you can cancel by phone or by live chat. None of the live chat links on their site work. Their support articles also cite "live chat buttons" — which do not exist. The phone is not an option for hearing impaired customers.

When you submit a support ticket, you get no confirmation that it was submitted successfully.

Great job, asshats. Still waiting for them to return my money since they sure can't give me the time I've wasted back.

I will never order from them again

I had a Club W membership. At first I thought it was pretty cool and there was no commitment as they would send you an email before shipping to give you the option to skip the month. Well this month that email never came and the only email I got was that they were shipping 10 bottles to me. Since I never got that email I was never able to adjust my order (not only did I not want 10 bottles but they were all bottles that I did not like).

I tried contacting customer service and they said there was nothing they could do. They said they always send the email prior to shipping and I expressed my concern that I did not receive that email. I even checked my spam and junk folder and it wasn't even there. Their wines are not even good quality and their customer service is even worse. Never order from them! They are not worth it. You can get better bottles from the liquor store for less money with less hassle and inconveniences.

Bad service

This the worst service and they charge your card for their mistakes. They send an email that they are willing to help, but it's useless. Then you can't cancel the subscription without their permission.

Impossible to cancel

Once you sign in it will be impossible to unsubscribe. I did chat with them and they said that my account will be canceled. After a moth I still can log in and still see my "monthly experience" that is ready to be shipped using my credit card. I'm going to sue the company. NEVER ever try to use this club. Stay away.

Not an Honest Company

I placed an order from a gift cert I received for fathers day. They placed me on the "club" monthly order without my consent. When I sent an email cancelling the "membership", they responded 2 times that I couldn't do it on line but had to call. So there would be no record of canceled "service". I called my credit card to cancel the "membership". By the way, the wine is not a quality product.

It's not rocket science folks – It's WINE.

This is CLEARLY a monthly wine subscription. I've been a member for years with only minor complaints. The wines I receive are great. My wife really enjoys the whites, and I like the reds, especially the Malbecs from Argentina and ANYTHING they send from Spain has been terrific. I've gotten some bad wines, but I expect some good and some bad from an adventurous wine club.

My mother LIVES in Napa so I know and drink great wine all day long. If you want snob wine, this is not for you. If you want a fun experience with above average (and some great) wines... give them a try.

I had one issue where the wine arrived very warm (in Phoenix) and had to send the wine back. That problem has been fixed.

I don't know if it's hard to cancel as I don't plan to! But all my interactions with customer service have been pleasant and they fixed anything I needed with a smile.

Overall Club W is something I plan on staying with for a long time and I recommend it to people all the time.

Excellent wine adventure

I have been a Club W member for almost a year, and have so far enjoyed the experience immensely. It's like Christmas each month, when my delivery arrives.

Although I have been a wine drinker for many years, my palate and discernment of what works for me has grown exponentially since joining Club W. Therein lies the real value of Club W.

As a result, within a few short months I decided to become a premier member so as to benefit from even deeper discounts and added benefits. This has reduced my per-bottle price. I usually select one or two of their specific recommendations for me, and I include one or two from the other wines listed, increasing my level of experimentation and surprise. So far, it has been way more "hit" than "miss". I had a couple of bottles that I did not like, but overall, the quality of their wines has been above average, as compared with prior wines I have experienced in that same price range or even higher priced in some instances.

That said, there are a couple of things that I would strongly suggest the company do to improve the Club W experience. First, the wines that are offered are limited in quantity and time period, so if you fall in love with a particular wine, there's a good chance it might not be available any longer once you decide to reorder it. This has happened to me several times. Secondly, I would like to see more variety in their overall selection options.

Club W's value is in helping the wine enthusiast hone and deepen their personal taste preferences without the hit-or-miss aspect of local wine stores and wine store salespeople's recommendations. At least I know that the vast majority of wines I receive will be of very good quality, and that, should I object to a particular wine, they will take care of me with an account credit. I don't know of any wine store that does that. Yes, I can opt to try wines reviewed in wine magazines, but it has been fun receiving my regular shipments and varieties.

Skipping shipments has not been a problem whatsoever either. I have even been provided with a free Club W sommelier phone consultation to ask any wine questions I had, It was very educational, informative and pleasant.

I take a little bit of issue with Highya's review comments that suggests the wine labels and pricing are what influence one's opinions. While that may be initially true, the ongoing process of sampling a wide variety of wines over time, soon develops into a discernment of what a good wine should taste like, regardless of price and labeling. That has been the case with my own experience. My husband and I have both become more adept at identifying the nuances of what makes a wine taste good, at least for us! We will eventually expand to other wine sources to broaden our choices, but so far so good.

Great Choice

I started with a Groupon Coupon at a great price for 15 bottles of wine. Yes, it was a deal but I did not care for all the wines received. From there I looked for a wine club and settled on Club W. Yes, I am paying more for 4 bottles of wine and free shipping. However, I have enjoyed the wines recommended as a result of the survey I took when I joined. There are ways to save which is nice, but for me it is more about enjoying a wine at a reasonable price. I am sorry though that a wine that I did enjoy was no longer available. However, it forced me to try another new one that I liked even better.

Okay, but worth the effort?

I have been a member for several months now and have found the quality of the wines to be okay, but not great. I believe I can find very comparable (maybe even better) quality of wine at my local HEB. The big thing for everyone is value. I can take my $45 and get a really good selection at my stores. No shipping and handling. The other side of that is convenience. Buying from Club W saves you time. Things all to consider.

Not worth the money

I am a big fan of wines and of trying new wines, so when I found out about Club W I thought that it would be a great thing to try because it would allow me to try all kinds of different wines and also potentially be cheaper than buying wine at my local grocery store. While both of these are true (to some extent), I was actually very disappointed with this service.

The wines I received in my first order were not at all too my taste. They were very acidic and not at all sweet (which I prefer). I tried to cancel my subscription after this first shipment, but after talking to a "concierge" who recommended specific wines that would be more to my taste and provided me with a full refund credited to my account for my first three bottles, I was convinced to continue my transcription.

I proceeded to order six more bottles which were recommended to me by the "concierge" that I had spoken to. I have been incredibly disappointed with the wines that I received. Though they have been on the "sweeter" and "lighter", I have found that they either do not taste of anything (to quote my boyfriend: "like vaguely alcoholic water"), have a terrible aftertaste, or have a terrible smell.

After giving them a second chance and being incredibly unsatisfied with the wine that I received (honestly, I am pretty sure I have had better wine out of a box) I decided to cancel my subscription.

Good product and customer service

I was quite pleased with my wine, and when I wanted to cancel, it was a 30 second phone call, with no hassle. The customer service representative was super friendly, and in a world of sub par customer service, it was enough to make me want to actually review something for once. I would recommend this service to anyone. I will probably re subscribe in a few months, and have wine shipped to family for birthdays.

Charged Me For Wine I Didn't Order

By KMM,

Washington DC,

Jan 24, 2016

Overall Experience:

I had a $13 credit on my account and ordered 2 bottles of wine. They included (and charged me for) a third bottle, using the credit for that third bottle so that I never actually received it. When I complained, they tried to refund me only a portion of the credit. Total rip-off, stay far away.

Buy Smart

By Richard,

Eau Claire WI,

Jan 21, 2016

Overall Experience:

Club W was recommended by a friend. For a year I've been a satisfied customer. Yes, the wines vary in appeal, especially initially; that's cause to intelligently rate your bottles as you uncork them. In doing so you will draw more wines that appeal to your tastes into your prospect lists. For a bottle that severely disappoints, Club W honors its promise to fully refund the purchase price. I've had a few such bottles, and a quick, easy phone call is all it takes to get the disappointing bottle's price credited to my account for a future purchase. Not every wines is 5-Star, but take care to note the ones that aren't and you soon will be amiably sampling wines you can enjoy from around the world.

Impossible to cancel

By Georgia,

Jan 15, 2016

Overall Experience:

Please make sure that you are willing to keep this club for the long haul, they make it nearly impossible to cancel their subscription. You cannot do it via email or chat or their website (though they happily take your card information via their website). You must call the number they provide you with, but you must also make sure you call during their business hours.

It's a SCAM

By Jennifer Ritter,

Austin, TX,

Jan 9, 2016

Overall Experience:

Agree with the other reviewers - stay away! I also received a gift card and my order slightly exceeded the gift amount so I enter my credit card for the difference, and BAM, suddenly I'm a monthly subscriber. I call to cancel after my first unordered shipment, and I'm told okay after the sales person tries to convince me just to "skip a month" instead. She agrees to cancel and all is good and then I notice another unauthorized charge on my credit card a month later. I have alerted my credit card company's fraud department and encourage everyone else to do the same. Also, the wines were AWFUL. Are these even real wineries or just labels being made in a factory in downtown LA? I took one bottle to a cheese tasting and my friend literally spit it out. It tasted like cardboard. Stay far away from Club W.

Nope.

By Anonymous,

Los Angeles, CA,

Dec 29, 2015

Overall Experience:

As a fellow employee I'm telling you now stay away. While Club W isn't a scam (come on people it's in the name!) it definitely has a system that is designed to get money from you over and over again. My suggestion is if you want to only get one box just to try it out, gift card, etc. place the order and then cancel three days later. This gives the warehouse time to process your order and the customer rep person can't give you any crap about "if I can cancel your order now you won't get your wine". Wrong. Call them out on that, totally not true.

The wines are at best mediocre, don't be fooled by the more expensive wines either, they're the same quality. The only wine I would ever buy from them again was the Chop Shop. So good.

It's a monthly pick-me-up

By Melanie Szlucha,

Norwalk, CT,

Nov 26, 2015

Overall Experience:

I like this service. It's easy to put a shipment on hold (I'm a single woman and am rollin' in wine at the moment), the customer service people have been nice, and it's kind of neat to get 3 bottles of wine at my door each month for a reasonable price.

I'm impressed with the videos they make describing the wines, the recipe cards and descriptions that come with each shipment. It's very well thought-out.